In a work that spans the twentieth century, this book questions the popular—and largely unexamined—idea that in order to get good health care, people must learn to shop for it. Tracing the robust ...
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In a work that spans the twentieth century, this book questions the popular—and largely unexamined—idea that in order to get good health care, people must learn to shop for it. Tracing the robust development of advertising, marketing, and public relations within the medical profession and the vast realm we now think of as “health care,” the book considers what it means to be a “good” patient. As it shows, this history of the coevolution of medicine and consumer culture tells us much about our current predicament over health care in the United States.Less

Remaking the American Patient : How Madison Avenue and Modern Medicine Turned Patients into Consumers

Nancy Tomes

Published in print: 2015-06-30

In a work that spans the twentieth century, this book questions the popular—and largely unexamined—idea that in order to get good health care, people must learn to shop for it. Tracing the robust development of advertising, marketing, and public relations within the medical profession and the vast realm we now think of as “health care,” the book considers what it means to be a “good” patient. As it shows, this history of the coevolution of medicine and consumer culture tells us much about our current predicament over health care in the United States.